Sunshine on Leaf
by LostFrisbee
Summary: Kakashi x OC Serendipity; when the last of the Amaterasu Clan is found buried in leafs, poisoned and near death in the woods outside Konoha a lot of questions must be asked, truths are sought and lies spurned. Who is the lost girl Azami, why is Itachi of the Uchiha Clan so diligent in pursing her?
1. Disclaimer & Authors Note

Kakashi x OC

I own this specific piece of writing, though the world and most characters are from the wonderful and brilliant mind of Masashi Kishimoto. I am also going to take the chance here to inform readers that, though I proof read extensively before posting, there may be some errors throughout. Missed due to my dyslexia (or as I refer to it, 'my second typist') not laziness, I swear it aha. I aim to provide the best standard of work possible so hopefully the second typist doesn't cause too much bother.

What to expect within: Drama, Love, Death, Violence, Mature Language and chapters that may include Sexual Behaviour and or References. If any chapter has explicit mature content within I'll give a note at the top of the page.

Anyhow..

Ladies and Jellyspoons,

I hope you enjoy my story, let me know what you think.


	2. The Pale Face - Prologue

Prologue

It was in the darkness, the sound of dripping blood, the smell of iron, the world was spinning but she remained still at its epicenter. Like some grueling overlord had loomed out of the fog the world trembled as the leafs of the trees fell like tear drops, the inky blackness of the night spread like a claustrophobic sheet of which masked the landscape. _'Tonight'_ she thought, _'is the last night, it has begun, the enclosure to eternal sleep. Rattling its dusty bones, death is racing to the sound of drumming in my chest'._ There was no moon to guide, not even a star to mimic the illusion of a continuing reality out with the chill of death. _'End this pain, let me step in to the numbness'_ , a cold erupted through her limbs, _'let me stop, let this stupid girls story end, I want to go home'._

When she had envisioned her journey through the leafs after the torrent of sandy dunes and deep marshes she had hoped to see the fiery colors of autumn but had missed the chance and had found herself in the crippling grip of winter. Which had steadfast swooped her under its snowy wing along with the yellow gleaming pair of eyes she had met in amongst the shadows of the wood.

How the snake had coiled, how it had struck and how her body had quivered in fear under its malicious thirst for blood. As her body grew more still and the wood more silent. A pale face hovered in the distance of her vision its eyes burning yellow, like the monstrous snake which had bared it's fangs before. This pale face grew as it approached, a frighteningly ghostly humanoid figure in white, eerie and unnatural in its movements. Coldness encapsulated her form.

"Amaterasu Blood. How fascinating a find, how Itachi found you my stunning piece I'll never understand." The voice was slimy, secreting sarcasm through a tone of wonder. The pale face came to view over her direct vision, its yellow snake eyes took in her facial features, and almost studiously cataloging, those eyes wondered her body. She took in the thin greasy black hair which dangled around the pale face, the small nose, thin chapped lips and oily skin. It was a male she figured analyzing the feminine features, she could hear, see and sense the presence. Going against any visionary aspect, this pale faced, ghastly figure was male, distinctly male. "I injected a particular poison in to your system, though on referencing and tasting your blood I very much regret. If I had known I wouldn't have." He simply stated, "Oh what a mess I have made, I normally don't act so impulsively but with my toad shadow on me I don't have very much time I am afraid." The pale face almost looked sad, with a hint of wistful. "You'll die within a few hours, quicker if you embrace it, fight it and well..", he paused "it'll be very painful."

A clammy warm hand cupped her right cheek, a thumb softly brushed under her eye, "If Itachi finds out I'll be in a bit of a pinch, I should burn your body but I don't have time. Oh what a beautiful face.." The hand began tracing the three scars across her cheek. "You've met a dangerous foe before haven't you, but yet.." a brief sigh escaped the pale face, "even with your scars you are a beauty."

A rumbling could be heard in the distance, the pale face looked away acknowledging the far off disturbance. "Well my shadow becomes more relevant" wrinkles crease across the pale oily skin, "he's never been one to have patience or any self-restraint." And with that the hand which had cupped her cheek and brushed her scars, dispersed in to a puff of smoke. She was alone, cold and shrouded in darkness, covered in leafs with the smell of iron all around.

The sound of bones was near, death about to begin its greeting, the final light eclipsed and she was finally in darkness, succumbing to the numbness.


	3. Wake - Chapter One

Chapter One

Stillness, static warm air and the color yellow greeted the small damaged figure laying on the bed. Her wide eyes searched the surroundings frantically, taking in the absence of sound, the yellow hue encapsulating the room from the bulb of light on the ceiling and the blank starless night sky outside. Pale blue curtains framed the bed she lay within on her left side, she could see no door nor the rest of the room. The small figure tried to wrestle with the itchy white fabric which covered her but found her arms to remain almost passive, only trembling slightly in response to her command. 'How annoying', she thought, 'these sheets are so itchy, I can't stand it!' The small figure seemed to wiggle ever so slightly in the white sheets, this motion untelling of the true potency of her internal fury and will to defeat this thin fabric villain.

Time soon passed under the yellow hued bulb, the figures wide eyes now staring madly at the window and its lock. The starless night beckoning, 'I think death was a tad more welcoming than these sheets, how fabric could be so uncomfortable I have no idea.' Lingering on this thought her own mental yellow hued light bulb now lit up and in this moment she acknowledged two striking things about her situation. One, that she wasn't in excruciating pain and two, she could sense three chakra's in a short distance. The small figure stressed, 'My body must be exhausted, wait no that's not all', she paused, 'I am numb! It took me this long to register the unmoving chakra's at the left side of the room, everything is dulled! My eyes, ears, smell!' within her chest her heart beat aggressively against her ribcage at the mere thought of her bodies lack of protection and any fortification resistance chakra. The small figure tried to unscramble her racing thoughts, 'I'm like a dulled blade! I can't thwart an attacker, I am at the whim of the nature of those who captured me.'

When the world had eclipsed over her, the curtains of life drawn she had not registered being pulled out of the leaves and away from the grasp of death. When the pale face who had hovered vacated she had found the ending page of her story, the final entry. Yet that was stricken from her, as her life had remained tied to her body, no afterlife, no peace, only a continuation of the life that had tortured her and the ghosts and memories of which had hunted and in equal measure haunted her. 'What a dour existence, at least if I can be rid of these sheets and in time gain mobility I'll journey again, I'll get to see the autumn of Konohagakure next year, I'll search their libraries celebrate their festivals then leave. Find another dirt path on my way to enlightenment'.

Wrapped in her bubble of wistful desire and confusion she let her self be enveloped by exhaustion and fell gently to rest, her wide eyes closing, anxiety waning. 'If I am in danger, I am so without parallel to safety, I have no defense. What greets me when I wake again hopefully will let me slumber for the next few hours untouched', this was the small figures last conscious thought for seven days.

The sound of tapping, gentle rhythmic tapping awoke her, as her eyesight began to sharpen she focused her puffy tired eyes to her right side, towards the sound. It was rain, drumming against the window, with the guidance of a whistling wind tracing the grey sky outside. The small rectangular window exposed the turn of the winter season, the weather almost seemed tranquil. 'Ah, so this is the sight I awaken too, no murderous eyes or knifes. Just rain and wind dancing outside with dead leaves, how peaceful'.

The trace of calm which had been only a playful shove to start her away from the arms of rest retreated slowly now that she had stirred her consciousness from the void of sleep. 'Can I move now?' she exclaimed sharply within herself, the small figure cried out loudly to her pained body to respond to her commanded for movement. Now that she began to awaken from the blanket of drowsiness she began to feel the pain in her joints, at first she took this to mean recovery. 'I am no longer numb, I can feel the pain, it hurts, it burns but my nerves still function. I can recover!' She exclaimed in happiness within herself, joy bounding about her body like a frantic escaping rabbit.

Then it hit like a thundering rock off a cliff, the pain ruptured through her like a spontaneous bath of magma, excruciating burning engulfed her! It seemed as though all her bones broke and ignited unanimously in one ceremonial swoop. Then the sound happened, a wail of absolute agony screeched away from her vocal cords like a fleeting demon made of nails crashing across a chalkboard. The pain was almost blinding, for only a moment she rationalized she had lost consciousness and had given herself away to the hell that bathed her. Within that second of lost sight figures had arrived around her bed, her pit of fire. "It's starting again, grab the damn needle!" roared a female voice, "It's been seven days of constant, on the exact dot, episodes and this team still hasn't thought to have the utensils at the ready! I am sick of this, you bloody idiots are getting reprimanded! This is abominable practice, be ashamed, get yourselves together!" The huff that followed this exclamation was similar to that of a bull about to charge.

The small figure in her pit of fire felt a cold prick in her left arm, 'it must be a needle' she reasoned as a cooling sensation traveled throughout her body, mapping veins. The bull of a woman who had thrown her temper to the other side of the room seemed to have sensed the small figures awareness amongst her screams of agony and addressed her sternly.

"I am the Hokage, I am saving your life, when you wake up I want answers!"


	4. Leaves in the Whirlpool - Chapter Two

Leaves in the Whirlpool

Chapter Two

The touch of a cool soft hand across the small figures forehead roused her out from a dreamless empty state. Grey light filtered across her blurry vision, a glance at the window revealed a dour colourless sky swollen with rain. The yellow hue from the lightbulb, which had greeted her before was off, the room was pale without its glow. Though the static warm air from her last conscious analyses of the room was not only present but thriving, _'must be a crappy heater, the smell of burnt dust is horrid, when was the damn thing last cleaned?'_ The small figure crumpled her face somewhat from the smell, 'this room actually smells like a nursing home!' At this she, through her now revived consciousness and sharpening vison, took in the appearance of what were once four blurry humanoid Rorschach's across the room.

Slowly lifting her gaze upwards and to her left the small figures groggy, half shut eyes met the somber stare belonging to the owner of the hand which had roused her from rest. The owner looked very sharp but feminine, with long blonde hair and a set of serious blue eyes. This beautiful somber woman seemed to loom ever so slightly over the small figure in the bed, like a great bird of prey. _'Wait, I remember you'_ , the small figure thought back to the last sight she saw in amongst the pain of her last visit to this room. _'She announced herself as Hokage, she is the one who ended that burning, that horrid burning!'_ A flow of gratitude seemed to overcome much of her growing anxiety, not all of it, but more than enough for her to dismiss the threating aura of the room and exclaim jubilantly, "Thank you, thank you so much, I was in so much pain. I couldn't bare it, whatever you did thank you." The small figures voice was very weak and crackly sounding. Though loud enough for her words to be heard her ever watchful audience, it still remained as ineffective as a crumbled ball of paper for taking notes. The woman took a step back in surprise, _'her body language is still guarded'_ , the small figure picked up on, _'she addresses me as a threat, either thank you is a pleasant surprise or she took it as sarcasm, or maybe a lie'_. The small figure felt disheartened, _'whatever happened to appreciation for pleasantries, how am I going to deal with this then?'_ she pondered _'I'm not known here, what words do I use'_.

The small figures inner monologue was disrupted crudely with the sound of the woman's hand coming down sharply on the compact wooden table beside the bed. What the small figure now noticed as an old, plain looking lamp shook violently on the bedside table. Almost toppling before suddenly resigning itself to stillness, she observed, after the woman's serious eyes looked upon its movements with contempt. _'Well that was scary'_ , the small figure thought, _'did that inanimate object just respond to the woman's look!'_ Slightly shaken the small figure now focused her eyes on the blonde angry woman, this to show that she now held her undivided attention just like the lamp and most likely the rest of the audience in the room. At this acknowledgement the looming woman began to speak, "I am Lady Tsunade the Fifth Hokage, guardian of the hidden leaf and I saved your life. I have taken a great gamble by taking a stranger in and an even greater chance by treating that said stranger when death started making its mark. The reason I use the word chance over the word risk is that I trust in this village and those guarding it at my side, you simply pose no threat against the power of the leaf in your current state." The woman's blue serious eyes held the small figures gaze steadily, "You can't move, so don't bother, anything you can accomplish under the strain of recovery will be at most two steps and a quick greeting with the floor. Have I made this clear?" The small figure seemed to shrink in to the sheets of the bed, giving a quick nod in reply, trying almost in vain to look smaller. _'Oi, why can't I hide under these sheets till that woman goes away? I can't even move my arms, how useless are these limbs of mine right now'_ , she inwardly scolded her body. The woman could feel the small figures will to hide flow through the room and see somewhat the tremor run through her body despite her almost completely paralytic state.

"I have saved you only to thwart that snake like bastard and in return for our kindness you will, in gratitude, provide us with information. Clearly expressing and identifying your name, origins, purpose of your presence outside of Konohagakure and interaction with Orochimaru of the Sanin." Tsunade stated bluntly, her serious blue eyes never leaving the locked gaze she held with the small figure in the bed. "I accept your thank you, but require far greater from you in respect for what was done for you. Understand within this room I have three trusted comrades whom dependant on your answers will respond accordingly." Tsunade gestured outwardly to the room, the three people whom made up the audience of the room seemed to hover slightly closer towards the bottom of the bed.

As they stepped forward to be introduced the small figure in the bed glanced down at them, taking in their presence. There was one woman, petite, black haired with a pale complexion and dark brown eyes, carrying a small pig. Beside her two men, both exceptionality tall and forlorn looking, one with long blonde hair tied back and the other who hard two large scars across his face with a forehead protector covering his head like a bandanna. "Shizune, Inoichi, Ibiki", Tsunade thundered the names out, with a clear indication of respect laden with the seriousness of the situation. "Shizune," Tsunade motioned to her step closer, "this is my apprentice and assistant but more importantly the medical-nin who is in part responsible for your continued life and treatment. Shizune had taken up the extensive task of analysing you whilst you remained under the medical coma I had to induce to lower the stress on your body. She has found quite a large quantity of puzzling information that we would like you to address and explain." The petite woman gave a curt nod towards the small figure in the bed, this medical-nin Shizune the small figure noted, had a horrible streak of determination across her pale face. _'Oh, I'm getting prodded and inspected whilst in a coma, how perverted, I better have been decent'_ , she thought briskly, _'I hope they at least kept me partly clothed during this analyse.'_ The small figure continued to have the sinking feeling that this was not the case, her mind simply wouldn't let her lie to herself, _'an unidentified person, and the need for answers for the safety of those in the village. It all adds up too well, there's plenty of reason to check everything over.'_ She shivered inside slightly, feeling exposed _'They could've waited until I was awake at least'._

The woman Shizune took a small step back as Tsunade moved her gaze on to the second figure, the tall man with the blonde hair, "Inoichi, is an integral member of our intelligence division and has been opening doors in your head as you rested. He has also found a significant chunk of information that we would like you to explain and more importantly complete." With a discreet sigh and a quickly whisked away frown Tsunade directed her attention towards the man with the scars and the bandana. "Now this is Ibiki, a fair and intelligent man, he is the head of the intelligence division. I don't think I have to explain in any great detail what he will undertake if you do not comply with our wishes."

With the introductions over the small figure in the bed looked back to the Hokage, wide eyed and awaiting the inevitable interrogation. "Now I am going to ask you questions, an answer is to follow from you, if you lie we'll know, Inoichi is already in your head so just spare us wasting any of our time." The small figure nodded quickly in response.

"What is your name?" Tsunade began robotically, the small figure coughed slightly to reduce the chance of her voice rattling as bad as it had before. "My name", she paused briefly, "is Azami Irving." As Shizune took notes, she nodded her head, _'She already knew my name? Who is this assistant? Just how much does she know of me?'_ "Where are you from?" The room seemed to grow tense, Azami acknowledged this change and thought quietly to herself _'So this is one of the answers that they could not find. Figures.'_ "I have no ties, I belong to no village, and I just travel." Tsunade seemed disappointed with her answer, taking a shallow breath the stern woman replied, "You are of a clan, we found the symbol stitched on your clothes, no clan member truly wanders unless they are deserters", she pointedly remarked.

Azami closed her wide eyes briefly taking in a deep calming breath to help rid of the fleeting sensation that her heart had missed a beat in a momentary pang of misshapen anger. Opening her eyes slowly she looked back to face the Hokage. "I am alone, as far as I've wandered I haven't found any who share my symbol, as far as I can fathom my clan is long since gone. A ghost of the past, already forgotten. I can't answer more honestly than that." Azami knew her temperament was changing she could feel it in the core of her stomach, her attitude had always been the same _'give an honest answer and hope they believe the truth'_ , she thought over the lie she may have to make to escape the situation, and hoped she wouldn't have to put that kind of energy in, lying always cost her a lot of energy.

The large man, Ibiki, looked pensive. "My lady Tsunade, this seems to ring true in her voice, I sense no lies. Inoichi?" The blond man looked tense, he nodded. The small figure relaxed slightly, they believed her.

The Hokage brushed Ibiki's statement away like the bursting banks of a river, "Why were you outside of the village? What are you seeking here?" The flippant jump in to the next question made Azami recognise the situation she was being presented with, she would only be asked to fully explain in detail after the pointed questions had been addressed thusly. "I said I was travelling. How hard is that to understand?" The grateful swell of gratitude the small figure had felt before was dissipating quickly. _'I hate official talk, they can't take one answer and understand it, just note it down and continue to ask questions that can be found and answered in what has already been said before'_. "I don't have a clan, I'm just looking to find out more about them that's why I came here. From the places I've been a lot of roads have led me here, to this village. It seems to be the one that will open up more about my past than even I know about, that's why I came here. Not under malicious intent or under some power hungry, fools ambition. My goals are my own and I hold no secret agenda!" The voice which had hidden away like a scared mouse now awakened like a hungry wolf, the small figure was truly beginning to awaken amongst the itchy white bed sheets in her weakened paralytic state.

Tsunade felt the shift in the small figures attitude, "This may appear to be meaningless to you but regardless these questions must be asked, suck it up and deal with it! You are not in the position to make any demands or power plays!" This remark showed the Hokage's power and struck Azami into the severity of the situation she had found herself in. "We found you buried under layers of leaves, poisoned and dying, by Orochimaru. Explain this!" Such potency this question held, Tsunade merely watched as the small figure in the bed regressed somewhat in fiery spirit. Whatever personal exposed nerve Tsunade figured she had hit earlier was now calming down to a dull throb as Azami's face fell back to a blank emotionless state.

"I let my guard down, I..." Azami in truth struggled to recall that encounter before she heard the distant drumming and rattling of bones. The pause in her speech seemed to evoke somewhat of a response from the man Inoichi. "Forgive me Lady Tsunade for stepping in on this, from what I gathered from her mind this encounter seemed to be a sudden flash. There was no internal recognition of threat. There was no recognition of who Orochimaru is, nor his intentions. Like I've mentioned before I do not believe this girl has any connection or knowledge of Orochimaru. She was merely a sacrificial pawn to distract Lord Jiraiya. That poison induced a pain so horrible it hit with a white brush, she has in essence become a Tabula Rasa. From what can be skirmished from her bleached memory is only water patterns in place of any detail pictures, the girl herself, for good or in bad won't be able to paint a clearer picture of what I can see." At this flurry of information Ibiki the man with the scars prompted in a deep harsh voice, "How can you be absolutely sure your skills are without flaw, how can you be sure this one does not have an ability to counter what you can see Inoichi? You are intelligent and I have met no other as talented as you for decoding minds but how can you know, for certain, you have not been deceived?" The response was quick but soft from Inoichi, "I've made my assessment, in time if it shows I have been deceived we'll deal with it as it hits us, as for now until further notice what I've written up is what we trust and go by." Ibiki gave a slow and heavy nod in response taking in what had been expressed sincerely by Inoichi. Azami watched this interaction closely _'they have known each other a long time, they may not be friends but the sense of respect weighs heavier than any other relationship I've ever came across between leader and subordinate'. This isn't the norm out there in the wild, in the land that exists between villages. Respect out with the encapsulating bond of blood is a rare commodity.'_ Azami gave a slight smile, through her reading she began to feel the presences in the room more clearly, as time passed since she had awoken her senses had begun to reassert themselves within her. The situation was still a dangerous one and it could go any way, too aggressive or too passive would result in too much weight on one side of the social scales. Azami realized she would need to remain as balanced as possible, focused and steady, too much emotion either end would rupture any stability in the outcome. If they worried or feared there would be no trust given or plan written up and she would remain caged, locked away and paralysed.

A hint of social discomfort now touched her, in what at first appeared to be a series of small choking sounds Azami spoke, "I.. Really don't remember much at all, I thought he was a snake at first then he became somewhat human. I can't remember much aside from that, I knew my destination was here, and for the reason to uncover more about my clan". Tsunade seemed to admit a gently humming sound, her fingers brushing her lips in thought. "Shizune, I would like you to reveal what you know and ask your questions. Inoichi, Ibiki keep your senseless rattling to yourselves. Inoichi, I know you to be a man who wouldn't bark out information like that in front of a person under scrutiny, so though I recognise your sincerity when concluding this one's threat level and memory capabilities please do hush immediately when in front of said person." Though laced with respect, the overall casting authority of the Hokage's orders where swiftly acknowledged by the three.

Shizune cleared her throat quietly, ceasing her note taking she cast her eyes on Azami, "Azami Irving, your clan crest is evident on your clothes and even in the colours you choose to wear and that natural colour through your hair, that teal links with the crest." Her chirpy voice was high and cutting, it occurred to Azami that this medical-nin was highly inquisitive and overzealous on such matters, _'what does this really matter to you'_ the small figure huffed to herself. "What is the name of your clan?" she finished, Azami stared blankly answering in a quiet voice "I think someone like you will already know"

Shizune grinned slightly, and passed her notes onto Tsunade. The Hokage's eyes narrowed at the information on the paper. "Inoichi look at this and verify if possible. Shizune, Ibiki, follow me we must discuss this further and determine the threat posed by our… guest". As they turned and left, Azami noticed a spiral on Ibiki's back and an image appeared in her mind of two banners standing side by side the spiral and her crest, the turtle, blowing in the wind. Emotion erupted like a great tide meeting a cliffs edge from the image and as Azami fell into a state of shock she heard a word fall from Inoichi's mouth.

"Amaterasu?".


	5. A New Exit - Chapter Three

A New Exit and the Art of Transparency

Chapter 3

A clock on a distant wall out with the parameters of the room ticketed away rhythmically, the only source to indicate the passing of time. Azami watched through the small rectangular window from her stationary post in the bed, as the clouds, still swollen with rain, swam across the skyline. The sky was now noticeably dimmer, time had passed in its all-consuming boredom since the Hokage and the audience had left. Not a soul had stirred, _'even those outside the room, those unfeeling vessels, they haven't even moved.'_ In her boredom and equally potent discomfort she had taken to reading the presences outside the room, they left her shaken. _'So empty, those figures. They are like dust on mantle, dead flakes of the skin they used to be attached too.'_ Only one word could admass the echo given off from those in the hall, _'void'_. They were but only void, empty chasms, vessels without a grounding soul. _'Anbu, Konohagakure's lifeless sentinels'_ she sensed, Azami had encountered them before, the returning chakra had indicated though she struggled to capture the memory. Earning only a dull throb from her head, indicating to dig no further, _'Oi…that hurts',_ wincing she thought, _'Figures'_.

Resolving herself to a still form whilst retracting the chakra she loosened her muscles, relaxing in to the sheets of the bed, her ever itchy white prison. _'My body still isn't responding much.'_ she admitted a squeak of surprise, _'Chemicals! I can feel them lurking, they are so awfully foreign! Why isn't my system running correctly with them, are they the culprit for this paralyses and not the poison of the pale face?_ ' pausing she reflected on the Hokage labelling of her attacker, _'Orochimaru'_ she recalled, _'his poison isn't the creator of this paralysis? I have no pain, but I am unable to move above a small twitch'. Azami began to formulate a reason behind her paralyse, 'The poison induced a great pain which evoked after I tried to move, Lady Tsunade ended this pain when it had reared its ugly head.'_ Azami ruffled through her mind, analysing her body's performance. _'Could the drugs that Lady Tsunade treated me with, which had ended my pain, have also removed my ability to move?'_

' _Surely, they only induced this to trap me, if they know my blood so well then then could only assume my body would respond the way it has. But after all, the great sensitivity to pain may have confused the Hokage, she may have grossed together the treatment in far too great a quantity and paralysed me, albeit temporary, in the process.'_ Azami tensed her muscles tightly, then began relaxing them slowly _. 'If I dilute the chemicals, I'll be able to move more, that being dependant on my theory being correct. If it is I'll begin to feel more pain the more I awaken the nerves in my body'_ somewhat nervous Azami took a steady mental step forward within her mind, collecting her anxiety and fear, accumulating it all within a small wooden box she had conjured in her head. Closing and sealing away any rippling emotions that may unsteady her she began to admass a nature chakra.

Slowly, the waves of nature chakra built within her mind and body, she could feel them growing higher and sharper like the edge of a great storm, _'I'll clear these chemicals in one swoop, just one'_ she calmly thought. Laying still in the bed the small frame admitted a green flickering aura, the once dull room began to light up with its presence. The window to the grey sky now provided a reflecting surface, guiding the green flickering light to the far side of the room and to the foot of a door. Azami had taken no notice to the reflecting surface and it's highlighting of the rooms door as the pale blue curtain remained a fixture across the left side of her vison. No door simply existed, though an exit had to presumably exist as the audience had left to that side. This fact did not simply occur nor did it waver the small figures current objective at this particular moment.

Out with the room the clock on a distant wall still ticked away rhythmically as to did the building towards Azami's repelling of the foreign chemicals lurking in her body. _'One'_ , tick, _'two'_ , tick _, 'three'_ , Azami whispered the call _'Release'_ , and with that utterance the green flickering light now pulsed slowly from her body to the gentle patterned thump of her heart. Slowly the chemicals began to rise from the inner sanctum of Azami's still frame, her skin now spotting with a slimy yellow ooze in response. The chemicals were diligently making their exit, emptying through the pours of the body creating a web like pattern across the pale canvas of her skin.

Then it happened in a quick burst of movement, sound and colour simultaneously mixing and cracking. The entire room seemed to contort unnaturally in shape, the once un-existing door from the unseen corner of the room now lay in pieces at the bottom of the bed. The small window to the grey sky outside, burst its glass pane. The bricks from its supporting wall began to bulge inward together then contract harshly, shattering in to singular pieces. The now crumbling brick wall spewed thick dust and the smell of concrete across the small room.

Glass shards cut across Azami's field of vison as she opened her eyes to the destruction, steadfast the empty vessels from the hall filleted through in to the room scattering all around the bed. Their porcelain masks the only highlight to their presence in amongst the smell of concrete and the thick dust. Azami's small frame violently contracted and the green flickering aura flared, her once pale skin now covered in postulant yellow only seemed to glow in wake of the auras brilliance. Silence seemed to dawn in wake of the horrible lashing of noise, stillness reclaimed it's grounding then in the split of a single second the small figure in the bed lifted, hovering vacant of the sheets that once covered her.

Azami had felt a jolt, like a single solid guttural punch up through her spine. Her small frame had risen off the bed and, after a second of static flight, flickered in transition. The small figure now felt herself shifting outwardly, propelled in the direction of the new, completely accidental, exit in the wall.

And as Azami felt roof tiles scratching at the layers of her skin, acknowledging her circular rolling at a downward angel, towards what would probably be the ground, she thought reluctantly to herself, _'I think I over did it.'_

The porcelain masks that had swarmed her bedside now leapt from the ledge that she had rolled from. Their shadowed eyes seemed to be studying her fall and, as she thought to herself, _'the likelihood of grabbing me alive after this stupidity'_.

The pain from her earlier visit to the conscious plane had not come back in to force she acknowledged as she fell through the air, _'this treatment has done a treat.'_ The air whooshed around like a great bubble of noise amongst the void that her small frame continued to fall through _. 'I'm going to have to slow down, the ground is approaching, I don't want to hit that too hard now.'_ Azami, ruffled through her mind quickly in search of an idea and in the instant of uncovering revealed the found idea as the Armoured Back, _'I don't have to slow down if I can cover my body'._ On the declaring of the chosen defence a half mooned shell formed over her back, curving around Azami's limbs and encapsulating her form fully. Landing was within the blink of an eye, the danger of hurtling in to the solid earth should have priority, but truly all the small figure could think was _'I hope none of those masked idiots stand on me!'_

When the armoured back of her shell smacked off the ground, a rumbling had occurred, like that of a hungry beast. One quick immense smack had ruptured the ground, the earth rising causing the shrinking space to tighten around Azami. Her Armoured Back had protected her, completely. She had felt the ripples bounce off her core shell and griminced _'I should be more careful in future, this just won't do.'_ The porcelain masks landed around her swiftly, one stepped forward and in a deep masculine voice announced "What did you do!? Why did the room rupture?"

Azami's eyes narrowed. "What gives you the right to question my actions? You who is so empty and vile? You who filled my body with poison, without my knowledge nor consent!" Indignant rage radiated from her like heat. "If you wish to imprison me I would appreciate a cell! I will not be trapped in my own body." Azami crouched low glaring. _'If this ends up as a fight they can't put me down but neither can I win. I must think of a plan.'_ As the thought occurred to her the ANBU agent who had spoken to her dashed forwards, arm outstretched as his subordinates started creating signs for jutsu. As a streak of fire cascaded towards her she felt the chakra coat act of its own will, fuelling itself with nature chakra. The flames engulfed her, inside the maelstrom she was safe. The chakra repelling the heat, the flames, and any threat that could be hidden by the chaos of the fire. The temperature dropped and a lazy mop of silver hair stood in front of her, the fire gone and in its place a sodden ground, and a group of soaked and slightly nervous looking ANBU.

"Go inside, I'll deal with this." The voice was masculine and commanding, he walked towards the ANBU. "It's not wise to use deadly force on a guest of the Lady Hokage. Return to the hospital room we will return shortly". In a puff of smoke the silver haired man disappeared and in his place fell a single wooden log. "Yo!" A voice said behind her "Excuse their bedside manners, they don't visit guests often." Azami looked up behind her and there perched on a fence reading a book was the silver haired man. "My name is Hatake Kakashi, I'm to be your ah… tour guide? Or whatever nice way you want to say prison guard. I won't take escapes lightly nor can you distract me with seduction, people have tried." With that comment he grimaced as though the words had a bitter after taste. "Well anyway, let us get you back to bed, I am sure you don't want to be seen in public wearing nothing but a hospital gown."

Azami flushed crimson, realising not only that she was not dressed for being outside, but that with the passing breeze she was more and more thankful for her tiny frame and the largeness of her gown. So with a dejected sigh, she trudged towards the entrance of the hospital holding her gown down with both hands. She looked up from the ground to the silver haired man, "I don't know what you saw, but any perverted ideas and I will make you regret them… I saw the title of the book you were reading." She smirked "Is that mask to hide your constant blush? For whatever reason you did it, I appreciate that you helped". With that Azami smiled gently and closed the door behind her.

' _So somethings been decided then, I wonder what's been set in motion',_ a weak sigh escaped, _'Oh, well at least I'll get to wander a little outside'_. Almost grateful for the given freedom, as restricted as it was, she padded somewhat excitedly across the floor of the hospital lobby and in to the awaiting stares of a four manned team of medical-nin, she presumed were responsible for her care. They swam around her like a gaggle of fish, rushedly browsing her and noting her injuries, or better still the lack of them. Azami didn't answer their queries, becoming restless and bored of the focus on her. _'I need to find my clothes'_ she stressed, the gentle chill of the room reminding her of the airy disposition of the gown. "My clothes, the ones I arrived here in and the bag with my belongings in it. I would appreciate them being returned to my person", her voice was low and serious, the deadpan nature of her chosen tone rippled through the bubbling noise of the medica-nin, being quickly registered. On noticing the medical-nin's cringing frames she thought over her tone and found it to be too harsh, adding "I'm for all intensive purposes wearing what feels like a sheet of paper, with all the transparency of that window. Having most likely provided a good handful of people with what can only be described as too much of me, for even my own imagination." Touched up with a small, shy smile she chuckled slightly, the tension in the medical-nins bodies' released and they smiled cheerily back at her. The tallest of the four with kind eyes nodded in understanding, "Yes, Mam, once we find you a new room, we will return your clothes." A pang of guilt snaked through her stomach at the need for a new room, but her smile remained. _'These people are caring for me, I won't be so harsh with them again, it wouldn't be fair.'_ On this thought she took to a seat on the far edge of the lobby, far from the eyes of the other patients and their visitors. Azami waited, listening for her name to be called after a new room was selected. Quietly she continued to observe the lobby and it's occupiers, some laughter buzzed through the air along with the sound of hushed crying.


	6. Lost in the Whirlpool - Chapter Four

**Authors Note:** Hey there! Sorry for the delay in the posting of this chapter, work and educational commitments have been relentlessly pursuing me. Successfully sapping away any free time like some great winged vampire bat aha Anyhow...

There are a few aspects I just want clarify about this chapter such as: - This scene is set three hours after the team vacate Azami's hospital room, and around 30/40 minutes before Azami takes her great flight out of the makeshift exit she made in the hospital wall!

I hope you enjoy this chapter, let me know your thoughts if you'd like through the review section and or PM system!

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Once Lost in the Whirlpool

Chapter Four

The sun shone in a radiant fury, its fiery embers stretching the ground scorching the air, nulling shadows. Time was stale, like an echo, unmoving gathering dust. The world encapsulated in a bubble, it floated tranquilly through passing the corpses like an uncaring stranger. _'The smell, the putrid smell!'_ It climbed high with its ensnaring scent, like sharp claws it scraped away the layers of normality this smell wasn't normal. It was abnormal, a contorted shell of reality, _'the becoming death at the end of life'._ This valley baked in the sun smelt of death, it reeked a vile fume, no description could quite conjure. Within the mass of bodies, half adorned with a blanket of water lay a frame with leaf green hair. A small girl, young, pale and painted with blood, her lower body floated somewhat in the water, her upper half firmly planted in the small pebbles of the rocky edges of the water.

The landscape was blanked by the bodies of the dead, the corpse' of the women and men whom once fought, now empty vessels. Limbs and clothing all jutted across the valley, littering the area with contorted bones and burnt patterned cotton.

' _The horror in this sight, I can't fathom, I can't begin to describe. When her eyes opened, they may have well opened to the first layer of hell. No child should have seen this, it was beyond a butchery, it was a massacre!'_ Inoichi breathed deeply recoiling at the images he had just seen. He left the medical room once again contemplating the horrors of war and the toll on children. Leaving the hospital in his shadow Inoichi thoughts still enveloped by the horrors could only thank his luck his own daughter had been spared from such sights.

His echoing footsteps mirrored his mind set as he approached the Hokage's office door, and a quick clicking sound of a handle announced his entrance to the room of expectant colleagues. The Hokage's office was unusually dull, the grey sky creeping gently across the room from the large windows covering the opposite wall. There in Inoichi's eye line stood the Hokage, Lady Tsunade behind the desk, her apprentice Shizune to her right and a rather disgruntled looking Ibiki leaning by one of the large windows. Clearing his throat Inoichi moved further in to the room, bowing his head ever so slightly, maybe that of half an inch, to show respect and acknowledgement to those whom filled the room. Tsunade took in the slumping posture of Inoichi and paleness assuming he had succeeded and seen something important. With a slight grunt she lowered herself in to the chair, one elbow meeting the surface of the table, she rested her chin on her now gently closed fist. "Now that everyone is here after dispersing for further analysis, we can continue." Bluntly Tsunade began the meeting, "Inoichi, report your findings." Tsunade's voice was calm yet rife with an underlying sting of irritation, in this moment those in the room seemed to inch away from the Hokage. Sensing that the pressure to come up with an effective plan alongside with what may be a naturally high and still unquenched curiosity was tempting out her infamous temper.

Inoichi shook off a grimace, stepping forward more confidently, albeit still shaken, towards the desk. He began steadily, "I've drawn a map, a memory map out of the maze of the girls mind. It is neither brilliant, nor fulfilling of any good desirable standard, it does not provide much I'm afraid. It's only clips of what should have been a detailed accounting of her life. But as I said earlier, the poison from Orochimaru has white washed a lot through the pain it had inflicted on her." Taking a short breath he continued "What I've gathered from these clips are short flashes of emotional turbulent experiences she has retained. Out of what I can encapsulate as emotionally scaring moments which had altered her retention of her surroundings to above average. This meaning there survival rate from the poison was far greater than that of smaller more minute memories." the information rolled off his tongue smoothly, with a well-practiced ease. "Quite a number of these clips are rather unnerving. Mostly these distressing ones are cluttered throughout her youth, predating her teens. I've written down my findings in a formal report Lady Tsunade, it will be available and on your desk tomorrow morning. I apologise for being unable to provide anything greater, this case is one of the more difficult ones I've undertaken. If she had information under lock and key I'd be able to uncover it, even if she had induced temporary amnesia I'd still be able to find it. Yet, because of the circumstances of the poison and it's pain there's not much to find, but I do believe that no mechanism for storing or hiding memory were in place when she was attacked. Although I saw her clans symbol in one of her memories. The poor girl saw horrors of war before she was grown, and she has some relations to the hidden Eddy although this is merely speculation on another subject I interrogated years ago".

Nodding slightly, Tsunade interjected "Inoichi your inclination seems to correspond closely to Shizune theory." Lifting her chin from her closed fist Tsunade straightened her posture up against the back of the chair she was occupying. "I find myself wanting to believe in this girl's innocent pursuits, but I cannot simply allow a stranger to aimlessly go wandering around on a half-filled understanding of who the hell she is. With nearly half the buildings of the village still in piles of rubble and that delusional snake bastard still roaming around I cannot gamble with this girl any more than I have!" The building volume of her voice now lowered with a disgruntled sigh ebbing on its decline, "If and or when she regains her memory fully who knows what that small girl could change in to. What person those memories would awaken, there is no way of knowing. Without that knowledge whatever response I take to her presence outside the village will be based on half-filled inclinations and theories." Running a hand through her hair the Hokage stressed, "As Hokage I have the duty and honour of protecting the village, but the importance of maintenance of the symbol of strength and unity. What village could trust in a leader who aimlessly treats a dying girl and throws her back out after being attacked by one of our own traitors? Compassion. Isn't that the word we're trying to understand, after all this death that has struck down through that slippery bastards attack. Maybe, just maybe outstretching a hand in compassion to a person in need will fuel the will of fire?" Tsunade seemed to become restless with her position, retuning her elbow to the table and her chin to its resting position on her hand.

"Shizune!" Tsunade fired, "Tell me again, and inform these two of your research and theory." Shizune jumped slightly, but almost instantaneously shook off her old friend and mentors sharpness, a now determined look crossing her face.

"From Azami's clothing a clan symbol is present, I spent days searching trying to uncover its origins, I swore I recognised it! That I'd seen it before. Conventional books provided no hint and I was starting to feel the clan just simply didn't exist, that my mind had just tripped over an unrelated image. Then it began happening with more frequent occurrence when I started to dig in to the older scrolls. Links started appearing to the symbol, particularly in war scriptures the symbol of the turtle, of blue and green, started appearing more and more frequently as I went further back in to history. The name behind this symbol, Amaterasu, was also prominent throughout many political hearings between clans as well, but this all seemed to end quite drastically. After the second shinobi war the name and symbol became less frequent, by the end of the third it ceased to ever be mentioned, no record, nothing. I at first figured this was another lost clan amongst the many who had faced genocide through the atrocities of the third war."

Tsunade seemed to cringe inwardly, the ghosts of that time seemingly rippling through her mind. Shizune noticed the paleness which had stricken her friend and mentor, the haunted expression of one who had lost so much in the violent era. Moving closer to Tsunade, Shizune attempted to let her friend and mentor know she was close by and had noticed the shift in her thoughts. This all in hope to comfort without denouncing Tsunade's authority as Hokage by drawing any attention to her flinching. Shizune's efforts were discretely recognised and responded to with what would only seem to be a curt off hand smile to Inoichi and Ibiki, whilst in fact being a silent thank you to a caring friend and apprentice.

The door opened once again, this time an elderly man with glasses trudged through the door. "Tsunade what have you to report to the elders of our unexpected visitor's history."

Tsunade looked up annoyed at the elderly man, slamming a hand onto the table she shouted, "Damn you Homura! Shizune is reporting now, try knocking and respecting my office before you demand things from me. Also I will inform you when I have all the details which is what I was trying to achieve before you rudely so interrupted!"

The old man grudgingly stayed quiet, he walked towards a chair and sat down, he then nodded towards Tsunade.

"Now Shizune continue your report."

Feeling confident now to continue Shizune proceeded to inform, reproduce and repeat herself to the room. "On further research I uncovered quite an intriguing bit of information. With Lady Tsunade's permission I was given access to the Lord Third Hokage's private documents, in order to scrupulously investigate the clan's disappearance. What I found changed and in some places completely altered quite a lot of variables." Shizune paused knowing the true potent weight of what she was about to say and how it would change the atmosphere of the room. Since her discovery, out with relaying it too Tsunade earlier this week, Shizune was confident that this information was almost if not completely buried in history. Sweat beads started to bud across her temple as she uttered her next sentence, "The Amaterasu Clan were at the fall of the Village of Eddy, they fought and died alongside the Uzumaki Clan as allies."

Ibiki exclaimed a sound of astonishment, his posture becoming ridged in response to the sudden guttural punch of knowledge, Inoichi true to his inclination nodded. Homura, in a flare of incredulous disbelief loudly protested his confusion, "The Uzumaki's, you mean to say didn't go down alone! How is that possible, when Konoha could do nothing for them? When this village remained in the dark as The Hidden Village of Eddy sank in to the ocean. How did they get there in time?"

"ENOUGH!" the Hokage slammed her hand down on the table once again, having now risen from her seat catching the eyes of Homura, "This is a deep scar left on the village, I understand your unwillingness to accept that another stood where members of our village should have been. But that does not mean I accept your behaviour. Pull yourself together! I except more from you than this reaction, take some control!" Homura clenched his jaw and after a half second released the tension in his body, relaxing his posture. Unclenching his jaw he took a deep breath, calming down gently, on this signifier Tsunade took back to her position in the chair.

"Apologies" Homura's body relaxed. "There was little to no information on the destruction of the hidden Eddy. Their people had always been close to the hidden leaf, we lost many friends. But I have never heard of any other clan being present, no survivors questioned has spoken of any involvement. And the raid was carried out in secret so no one could have arrived before it happened in the intentions of preventing the annihilation of the Uzumaki clan." He shook his head, "Hiruzen never mentioned any of this, why? Why!? We could have looked further into this."

Shizune looked at the documents in hand and walked over to the elder and handed him a sheet of paper. "This is the log date for the document discussing the involvement of the Amaterasu clan with the Uzumaki clan. As you can see it is dated a few days before his death it is why it took a few days of searching his files. I never expected any relevant information on the clan to be recent."

Tsunade nodded thoughtfully, "Is she any threat to us? Are the combat specialties listed in the report of the Amaterasu clan?"

Shizune shook her head "Sorry my lady Tsunade, I could not find any information pertaining to their combat abilities, she is still an unknown factor, but her friendship with the Uzumaki clan likely means she will be an ally of Konoha."

Tsunade's face twisted with the conflict of letting the girl live, keeping her captive, and risking the village. "Should she regain her memory we could use her for information she may know more about Orochimaru or even other plots, at the least she may be able to fill our information on her clan, when she finds out more. Kakashi!"

A man with silver hair appeared perched on the window ledge. "Hai?"

"I want you to keep an eye on our prisoner, and watch her, any signs of hostility or danger and eliminate the threat whether it is her or an assassin. We need to assume she is a spy but also a target. List any abilities or skills you notice and report back to me, we will need this small gamble to buy some time."

As Tsunade finished speaking the building shook ever so slightly and the sounds of destruction from nearby surrounded them. "Kakashi! Go and find out what the hell is going on out there! Report back to me later."

"Hai!" he responded, and with a sharp nod Kakashi vacated from his perched position on the window ledge traveling quickly towards the hospital, and in the direction of an unknown and very large charka signature. Glumly his thoughts swam _'and here I thought I'd get some time to read today._ ' He sighed, _'Though this might be interesting.'_ his curiosity seemed to stir slightly from its usual placid state as he drew closer to his destination, _'If this is her chakra I sense it isn't exactly shying away. I wonder how impressive this girl really is.'_


	7. Of Masks and Mops - Chapter Five

**Authors Note:** Hey everyone! Hope yous had a fantastic Halloween! ~ Finally i got this done! I am sorry if the punctuation and or spelling is bad, my proof reader is MIA at the moment due to laptop breakage aha! I did the best i could but still dyslexia does not enable me such power over the typed word. I had a lot of fun putting this together, (though i am worried it is not interesting enough for actual plot movement), pulling together Azami and Kakashi interaction was enjoyable to see how they would bounce off each other.

If you have time after reading it would be cool to hear your thoughts via PM or review section (dependent on what you feel).

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Of Masks and Mops: The Unburnt Fire

Chapter Five

The chill of the concrete steps tingled through Azami's bare feet as she climbed the staircase to her newly awaiting hospital room. The male figure a few steps ahead of her kept a slow and steady pace, Azami wasn't sure if this was more for her benefit or for his now that they had started their climb to floor 7. He was one of the kind faced medical-nin she had rattled upon her re-entry to the hospital, who now for all intensive purposes was her Shepard guiding her _'through this waiting room for the ill and dying.'_ She mused _. 'Last time I was in one of these places I got lost and ended up in the morgue. I should've realized when the temperature dropped so suddenly in the middle of that damn heatwave.'_ A faded memory of being in a hallway hued by metallic blue and framed by snaking cold mist ran across her thoughts. The barking yell of an old man, the sound of a mop hitting the floor and a sudden appearance of an equally confused and angry janitor promptly ushering her back to the living world outside. Azami smiled slightly, a dimple softly creasing under her left cheek at the suddenly recalled memory, 'their smart to give me a guide, if they didn't I'd end up infiltrating some super-secret base under the building completely by accident'.

"These stairs, I hate these stairs." The medical-nin slowed to a stop, "I've been working here for 10 years, and guess what? I still hate these damnable stairs!" Turning slightly to look back he smiled gently to Azami, "You're the patient, all bruised and scratched and here I am the one who can't climb the stairs!" He chuckled softly, "How are you feeling Miss, I know I'm looking all out of breath, but if you are feeling woozy or disorientated I can carry you?" Azami seemed to recoil not in horror but in surprise at the sudden generosity of the man _, 'carry me?'_ laughing quietly a smile broke across her once gloomy face. "If you carry me, I think both our fates are going to be sealed and not in the way we'd both hope for." Gesturing towards the stairwell behind her the medical-nin seemed to absorb Azami's prediction of them toppling to their doom down the very stairs they had just conquered. Laughing heartedly he nodded, "fair enough Miss."

"Azami", she added excitedly, "Just call me by my name. I don't really uphold formalities, I just do not see them as useful" She paused mid-sentence her face becoming almost quizzical "Well…" Azami corrected herself "I do… but it just seems so confusing and overly complicated when it doesn't have to be. You know?"

The medical-nin recovering from her sudden and most jubilant outburst, nodded. "I guess I understand. Though I am very adherent of them myself." Turning fully he extended an open hand towards Azami, "Well, if we are officially exchanging names it's only fair I give you mine, My name is Hosho." His smile was warm and safe, extending her small pale arm she accepted his handshake, enjoying the comfort of a presence who wasn't guarded or on the offence, simply friendly. Azami had missed the company of a person who was simply friendly, _'it has been a while.'_

"I've been treating you along with my team over the last week. So I've known your name for that period of time, but I didn't feel comfortable using it because you didn't know mine, didn't seem right somehow." Hosho chirped slightly, Azami could feel his mood lift somewhat _, 'recovery from the stairs, or maybe the result of relinquishing some personal social discomfort by actually talking to me, after walking ahead in silence for so long?'_ These were Azami's assumptions, Hosho appeared to her to be a kind but somewhat socially awkward figure _, 'not the worse I've met though to say the least.'_

Turning back around Hosho started to climb the stairs once again, Azami's eyes lingered on his acceding presence, _'I need to find out what's going on here, before whatever has been planned is set in motion'._ Azami's thoughts raced by her _, 'Why am I being detained, not in a prison cell but in a village. How confident are they that I can't just breeze outside the walls?'_ This last thought troubled her greatly, as it either showed _'great power or even greater stupidity'_ , she honestly didn't know which was worst. Huffing slightly she began following in Hosho's steps, her first layer of thought falling across the blurred memory of the silver haired man who greeted her after the fall. _'Who was he, why him?'_ Azami questioned her memory, _'what did he say again?'_ Recalling a brief mentioning of being a _'tour guide or guard'_ she paused slightly, then her memory slipped her a notice. Hitting like a great metal shovel to the back of the head her memory caved fully and she remembered his statement _'Seduction won't work.'_ At this her inner monologue seemed to snap like an elastic band. _'What the hell was his thinking, seduction? Bastard! What did he think I was doing exactly? My body is my own and it certainly is not a sight for anyone! I did not choose to have my clothes stripped of me, and to be placed in such a horribly designed item!'_ Azami's blood coursed through her veins, if fury was a liquid it would be leaking from her every pore _. 'Wait till I see him again! I won't just kick his ass, I'll plant him in the ground like the weed he is!'_ Damaged pride over writing any logical and realistic view of her own situation, strength and true lack of knowledge on this figures abilities.

As Hosho led away from the staircase they wound round several hallways towards a singular grey door. "Right Azami, here we are. We made it! In one piece!" Hosho proclaimed in an out of breath, but friendly, fashion. "Oi, oi, my legs are like jelly" she said gently, detaining her inner conflict to the back of her mind, "Thank you Hosho, thank you very much, we made it in good time." They both shared a breathy laugh directed towards the situation and their stamina versus a set of ridiculously steep stairs.

Azami's wavered slightly on her feet, in her anger she hadn't realized the wobbly state of her legs. _'I've gotten weak'_ she thought sadly, _'what am I going to do, I can't fight my way out in this state?'_ The situation made her feel pathetic, an insect in a garden full of crows, her body just wasn't responding at all since she had protected herself from the fall and the fire of the anbu. _'Why now, why does this happen now? I'd rather just leave, walk out back to the woods, away from here and away from this situation.'_ She pined _'these people I've met are showing so much interest, too much interest, it's suffocating.'_ Thoughts jumping erratically, they landed back to the figure of her anger, _'That man, that silver haired man, he isn't ordinary, he has control, over those anbu… and over me.'_ Azami analysed, _'the Hokage, she must have sent him to me, he must be powerful._ ' Her mind continued to whirl, thoughts flooding through the banks of reason and logic so normally fortified in her head, _'should I ask Hohso? Will he tell me, what I want to know? Maybe.'_

"Hohso, I am sorry to ask this of you, as I am not sure you'll be allowed to tell me." Azami lifted her gaze to meet his brown eyes, projecting a presence of almost childlike adulation she continued "Who is the silver haired man…Hayate Kakashi? He's going to be guarding me, I don't know who he is, is he a good man?" Words deliberately set she readily awaited too take in Hosho's reaction expectantly.

A reaction that would prove not to come, to her surprise.

Azami watched as various struggling emotions seemed to cross Hosho's face, ultimately resolving in a vacant stare. "I won't say, you'll see for yourself." Hosho answered quite bluntly, "He's waiting outside for you. Once you're changed you know, you have to head back down to him. "

' _Well that certainly didn't work, I won't find out anything from this one. He's been trained well.'_ Azami nodded weakly, keeping her eyes wide in reflection of the honest and curious person she wanted to come across as. _'At the very least I can respect him for honoring his position. He may not know who I am, or why this man Kakashi is monitoring me after all.'_ Stepping close to Hohso she placed a hand to his right arm, "I get why you can't tell me, don't worry I won't pressure you" she said softy "I hope we get some more time together, you really are a nice person, and I could do with some friends." Azami's petite frame almost seemed that of a child, her eyes wide and friendly, Hosho continued to gaze down at her, his once blank face now slightly smiley. "Miss I guess it's time I take leave from your side. Your clothes have been placed in your room, most possibility on the bed." Smiling more so now, the awkwardness dissipating he continued "who knows, maybe if all works out we can speak again." Pausing as if considering something that may be important, Hosho looked at her quizzically then spoke in a rather ominous tone. "Remember not to leave Kakashi out there all day, I will warn you now that he's prone to getting restless and seeking out those he's waiting for… he has abhorrent manners, and never uses doors." Azami's frame seemed to go ridged somewhat at the thought of the man Kakashi once again appearing when she was not so decent. _'I really, really hope there is a bathroom or cupboard I can get changed in.'_ A certainly perverted profile of this man was building quite rapidly in her head, "Oh, I'll get ready very quickly!" she rushed, taking her hand for Hosho's arm. Hosho's let out another breathy laugh at Azami's flushed reaction, "I hope you have a splendid day Azami, it was very pleasant getting to meet you whilst you are conscious." Bowing ever so slightly he vacated from her presence in the hallway, walking urgently back towards the stairs.

She watched him go, almost in absolute want to reach out her arm and ask him to stay, but that was an opportunity she would never take. _'This place is so empty it echoes. It may as well be haunted.'_ Opening the singular grey door to the room she entered quickly, _'time for clothes, that don't show my private bodily parts to the world'._

The room was an almost exact copy of the one from before almost exactly, the only difference being the absence of the curtain around the bed. _'No cupboard or bathroom, fantastic.'_ She scanned the room, a large mirror over a sink on the wall to her left, a small singular hospital bed to the right and a desk with a lamp and her clothes on top of it against the wall with the windows. On addressing the size of the windows and the lack of blinds she recoiled somewhat, _'oi, I'd have more privacy in the hallway than in here'_ thinking over her options she approached the desk timidly.

There they were her clothes, upon seeing them a sigh of relief escaped her, calming slightly her posture relaxed. Azami hadn't released how tense she had been getting over her time here without any personal comforts or sense of identity. When she had awoken in a strange room, in pain confused and stripped of any indication of personality, through clothes and or varying personal items, she had felt lost. Something to which she hadn't addressed till now, her mind was still foggy she could feel as sense of blurriness. It was frustrating, trying to think about who she was outside of a few scraps of memories felt like trying to find an untraveled road enshrouded in a thick fog.

Brushing a hand over the garments she started to investigate them, _'they've been washed, I remember a lot of mud, I wonder who washed them?'_ Looking through the small pile she listed in form of a memory exercise, hoping to flex out her brain somewhat from its long slumber _. 'Dark green tank top, it's comfy and fits snugly. I bulk bought this tank-top because it's fast drying and less likely to tare.'_ Moving on she lifted the second item, a leaf green denim, half militarized waste coat, with amber gold strips across the shoulders and leather ties across the back of the neck to keep it together _. 'I stole a few of these from a camp set up a few years back. Those guys were bandits anyhow, they were already removed from the market by default'_ she reasoned with herself, _'though I understood why they put up a bit of a fight for keeping them. The material is durable as hell.'_ Azami mused at what should have been a horrific memory of accidentally setting herself on fire after falling asleep next to a candle _. 'If it can survive me then its makers deserve awards.'_ Turning it over again she took in the symbol of a turtle which was roughly stitched in to the back, _'I don't remember doing this but it looks like I am not good a sewing, better not take that up as a career path.'_ The symbol was quite complex in pattern and vibrant in its colors, a mixture of blues and greens swimming together, melding passively then streaking dominantly in various areas. ' _It's beautiful'_ , her fingertips followed the various swirls and curves in the pattern. As she became more immersed in the symbol an ache began to rise in her chest. On acknowledgement of this she shook her head and roughly put the waistcoat down on the table. _'Not now',_ was all she said to herself in recognition of the building tightness in her chest, _'just not now.'_ All that remained on the table now was a pair of dark blue shorts and a small grey-brown waist bag decorated with golden cogs and gears. _'I'm not sure where I got these from, not through damaged memory or anything but out of genuine forgetfulness, I think.'_ Lifting the bag off the table she opened it roughly, checking what they had left her _. 'My weapons have been removed! The nerve of…'_ pausing she let out a slow breath, _'right I can't get angry about this one, of course they have taken my weapons'._ At this thought something small and cold touched her finger tips, clutching it she removed it from the bag. It was a brass locket on a leather tie acting as a chain. Azami let out almost in a whimper equated from both surprise and a revived clawing ache in her chest, "oh". It looked handmade, subtlety covered with a metallic galaxy finish. Purples, reds and blues danced together when she turned it so slightly in her hand towards the light of the window. Attached to the leather tie beside the locket was a small sharply cut brass star charm. Turning it a few times in her hand she opened the locket, trembling she thought _'I don't remember how I got this item, if I stole it, bought it or was given it._ ' Her heart thumped painfully in her chest, _'It's of great importance, by the way I am reacting, I feel like I miss someone so gravely I want to crumple down in to tears.'_ As the locket popped open Azami let her gaze fall across the singular phrase within, she whispered it gently to herself, "never forgotten, and always loved."

' _Who, who..'_ her thoughts raced _'who gave this to me, what did I mean to them?'_

Closing the locket, for she could no longer bare the confusion and the terrible pain in her chest, she pulled it over her head. The locket slid on with ease landing just over her heart. _'Deep breaths, deep breaths, you're panicking and that Kakashi is most likely to rear his overtly spikey hair up here soon. Think about it later'_ shutting off her connection to those racing thoughts she breathed deeply trying to steady her trembling form.

' _I wonder if he's really out there?'_ walking around the desk she placed her arms out on to the window ledge and prompted herself off the ground to look out the window. _'Damn windows are so high up'_ she thought to herself, refusing to address the factor that the windows were of normal adjustment and that she was just that small. Azami's gaze trailed across the surroundings of the hospital, _'nope'_ her face becoming quizzical _, 'I wonder if he's just waiting downstairs.'_ On the passing of this thought a small knock on the glass plane to Azami's left broke her from concentration. Arms giving out under her, in fright she quickly found herself on the floor and staring up in to the gaze of a bored, yet slightly amused, looking man. "Oi!" she yelped quickly sorting herself, ensuring all various private areas were covered subsequently. Azami could feel her face flush red, she didn't need a mirror to know how flustered she must look.

Sliding the window open he gracefully entered the room, and if she weren't so flustered and his face not so covered Azami could've sworn that she saw a hint of smugness briefly cross his face. _'Why that arrogant... twit! I've only been in the room for all the best of five minutes, I could've been naked, and.. and.. does he have no sense of privacy!'_ This was not a good day she figured, her heart racing, _'my blood pressure is going to be through the roof if I have to spend my days with this guy!'_ He raised a hand in greeting "Yo!" he said brazenly. Being easy to read she wasn't surprised when he turned to face her fully and exacerbated things in three simple words, "I did knock." Azami looked up from the floor she still remained on, bubbling fury clear across her face. "Yes. You did. You knocked the damn window. A clear window to this room which has nowhere for me to get changed privately!" her words were curt, "If it had been the door on the other hand that would be fine… why… why did you have to use the damn window?" He lifted one arm and scratched the back of his head _'likely thinking up an excuse for not thinking things out'_ she figured. "You were scurrying around, I thought maybe you were up to something, that or you were looking to escape or both and well last time you were left alone you managed to make a hole out of the wall and fall out of said hole." Happy with his answer he moved towards her and extended the arm which previously played with his hair. Looking at his offered hand Azami fought with herself, _'should I take his hand?'_ Worry of coercion and foul play jumped across her surface thoughts, and as if he could read her mind he spoke somewhat sharply "Don't look so scared, I'm only trying to help." At this Azami let out an exaggerated huff, making the effort seem more than it was worth for her. As she placed her hand in his, he pulled her too her feet in a quick but gentle singular motion.

Standing now in his direct presence Azami became dizzy, swaying somewhat on the spot, her large eyes looking a tad vacant. The man Kakashi steadied her softy and dropped his hands back at his side, "You're still recovering" an almost statement met with a hint of displeasure, _'or guilty conscious for the window visit?'_ Azami couldn't quite place it. "I was poisoned, by something that should have ended my life. In all purpose it did, I nearly died and I'm still not sure of the extent of the damage. My skin constantly feels tingly, everything is itchy and my mind is as useful as wet blanket." She couldn't have helped herself, in all of her time here Azami hadn't had a chance to _'complain, or shower, or look in a mirror.'_ A good complaining _'was very much needed'_ , at least to lower her climbing blood pressure. The silver haired man looked down at her and in agreement of her state of affairs gave a brisk nod and smiled, visible eye closing eyebrow encroaching in on the space of his headband.

Now with a chance to take him in, and all his cumbersome hair and height, Azami's eyes zeroed in on his face, or better yet lack of it. "Why are you wearing that?" she blurted out with any thought for politeness, "I wear it because it fits" he shrugged.

' _I don't understand',_ Azami thought confused in regards to the probity of severe itchiness and discomfort of wearing such an item for long periods of time. "Isn't it uncomfortable?" she pointed out, the silver haired man seemed to contemplate his answer, "Well yes sometimes but I have created a special jutsu to prevent discomfort, shall I demonstrate?"

Looking rather intense Kakashi stepped slightly away from Azami, his hand forming the tiger sign. _'That is worrisome, fire is a dangerous way to remove discomfort'_ she thought as he raised the fire sign to eye level. Azami took a small breath as he began to mould chakra, the pressure in the room was oppressive, and clearly this jutsu was no small accomplishment; Azami felt her mouth open amazed… when the pressure dissipated from the room, and he then scratched at his cheek.

Azami regained the space, stepping forward to him, eyes fixated on his hair, "I do not appreciate being mocked, especially from someone with an extreme similarity to a jagged mop!" She felt the blood flood her cheeks in a furious blush.

He ran his hand through his hair, "I would like you to know the fire sign bluff is also one of my other signature attacks, it can be most devastating."

She raised an eyebrow, now interested "just how devastating? Why don't you describe it's effect to me or demonstrate it? I am really curious…."

"Well, yes eh.. I ..I ..I don't think your body could handle such an… assault? In your current condition." He stammered, a blush now evidently traveling sections of his uncovered face as he thought about explaining the Thousand Years of Death.

Azami took in his response quickly responding with a cheery "okay", accepting his answer fully and taking a step back. Clearly not expecting such a sudden acceptance the man Kakashi froze in place, confused and awkward looking. "Sorry to make you awkward, it just occurred to me to ask." Azami concluded merrily, a moment of silence passed between them. Following this moment Azami watched as the silver haired pervert recovered his form, regaining a posture of steadiness in face of the interaction that just happened between them.

Mind wandering again, tailing from the topic of masks, Azami wondered _'what face will I see when I look in a mirror, will it be a face I remember?'_ After all she hadn't looked in a mirror, how could she be sure she was the same teal haired girl she remembered. Breaking her from the deepening anxiety she was beginning to unearth, Kakashi filled the silence, "how about a bit of exercise to move those rubber limbs?" Quizzical she regained eye contact with the singular grey orb staring back at her Azami nodded. "It would be good to get some fresh air." Taking a second to recognise her bodies fatigue she continued "but I'm feeling really shaky." Nodding Kakashi added "I've been told to keep you moving today, you have been in bed rest far too long, though exhaustive some excesses in walking will help your body to find its bearing. Plus the reading material here is just terrible." He sighed somewhat dejectedly. "There is a bookstore in the village that is quite extensive and even have some… famous local writings on tactics that have had extensive work and extremely detailed research in which I need to procure, for my students".

Curiosity piqued, she nodded, threw on her clothes, after forcing Kakashi to sit facing out the window. Once dressed she turned slowly as a strong hand grabbed her, "I hate stairs shall we take the quick route?" A mischievous grin creeped along Azami's face, and she smiled as the wind swirled around her.


End file.
